In this post for The JAMA Forum, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Larry Levitt discusses UnitedHealth’s exit from Affordable Care Act marketplaces, the possibility of bigger premium increases in 2017, and why these challenges are unlikely to significantly affect long-term sustainability of the market and the law.

This analysis looks at how a potential withdrawal by UnitedHealth Group from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces in 2017 could impact insurer competition and premiums, finding a significant impact in some markets, though it would have a minimal effect on the average benchmark premium nationwide, The impacts of a UnitedHealth withdrawal would vary considerably by state and market area, with a more pronounced effect in rural areas. Since UnitedHealth often is not one of the lower cost plans, the effect nationally on premiums of an exit by the insurer would be modest.

A withdrawal by UnitedHealth Group from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces in 2017 could have a significant impact on insurer competition and premiums in some markets, though it would have a minimal effect on the average benchmark premium nationwide, according to a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation.…

This analysis examines factors that may have kept 2016 enrollment in Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans from reaching early projections, and it estimates that sign-ups will continue to grow modestly in coming years.

A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that sign-ups in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans could continue to grow modestly over the next few years to 16.3 million (up 28%), based on the experience of the top-performing states. Assessing ACA Marketplace Enrollment examines factors that may have kept…

A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that in 73 percent of counties served by Healthcare.gov, people enrolled in the lowest-cost silver plan this year could save money on premiums by switching to a different silver plan in 2016. In these counties, the silver plan with the lowest…

This analysis looks at how the premiums for the lowest-cost silver plans in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces changed between 2015 and 2016. The analysis examines premiums of the 2015 lowest-cost silver plans (in states that used Healthcare.gov in both 2015 and 2016) for a single 40 year-old adult to see how much these premiums increase in 2016 and whether enrollees could obtain lower premiums by switching plans.

The YouToons help consumers understand health insurance by explaining health insurance premiums, out-of-pocket costs, and provider networks. These three videos are excerpts from the 2014 YouToons video, Health Insurance Explained – The YouToons Have It Covered.